Lupin1

1. Participate in some kind of regular exercise outside of martial arts. 2. Go back and work on my kung fu kata, which I've totally let fall by the wayside recently. 3. Continue looking more at the academic side of martial arts-- history, theory, etc. 4. Find some way to spar more regularly. 5. As always-- Grok on.

Go to Hulu-- watch the movie Fat Head. Go online research and learn then research some more. Experiment with some different ways of eating. Don't go for an easy fix. Take the time to learn about how your body works and how putting different foods into it affects it then develop your own plan. You'll get much further that way.

When I was younger we would come up with elaborate plans for sneaking out of bed in the middle of the night to look at the presents. We would hold practice runs Christmas Eve were we would tie karate belts to our beds to lower ourselves to the ground and put markers on the squeaky floor boards. We never actually did it, our course. Now we usually do the Christmas Story thing where one person "plays Santa" and hands out presents to everyone else and we just open the presents as the person hands them to us.

See, that to me just sounds silly. Could you imagine the owner of a grocery store or a gas station going into a newly opened competitor and telling the owner they couldn't operate their business there because it was "their" territory? They'd be laughed at. Business competition is to be expected and is healthy for the marketplace. It's what keeps prices reasonable and quality high. I can't see how it would be different in the martial arts business.

Last night was actually our last class of the year as we close for the week and a half of school vacation. In past years we've had special relay races or a kata competition and the class before Christmas also seemed to be the traditional night for all the white belts to get promoted to their next belt (since we usually start a new group of white belts towards the end of September, they're usually ready right around now) but this year they all picked everything up ridiculously fast and got promoted a few weeks ago. We also usually give out candy canes or something as they go out the door, but no one did that this year, either. So this year it was really just a normal class. We don't usually do anything special for the adults. Some people usually get the instructor a present. I sadly forgot that this year, as well (it just came up so fast. I don't think I even realized until half way through class that it was the last one). The kids' class instructor got me a few of the others movie passes as a thank you for helping out which was awesome and unexpected, but that's it. I really should start pushing for more unique traditions. I think seasonal traditions are very important for kids and adults alike. They give a structure and a framework to the year and make the time cycle more tangible, which is a very human need and something that's slowly fading away.

So on a whim tonight a drove a few towns over to try out a Kyokushin class I've been looking at online for some time. It was ehhh. I mean, probably the main thing I'd want to get out of it is sparring (the adults don't spar at my Isshinryu school) and we didn't do any of that tonight, so that may be the main reason it was just ehhh. We did about an hour of line drills and half an hour of kata (he went through their five "mini kata" with me very quickly and then he taught me the first two kata, which were so similar to the first kata we do in my Isshinryu class that I picked them both up immediately). Honestly it was so similar yet so slightly different that I think it may or may not mess up my Isshinryu. Although after Christmas I'm starting Nijushiho in Isshinryu (with Shotokan form), so I'm about to get messed up anyway... I might go back on Saturday just to give it one more go, but I think it might be best for me to just go back to Judo, which is at the same time. I was just curious and wanted to try something new. I still kinda wanna spar, though...

Congrats!

Hey-- for some adults karate is the only real socialization they get outside of work. And take into consideration you're meeting people with a built in common interest and I think it makes sense that people will find each other through MA classes. In fact, on dating sites, taking classes to find someone with a common interest is usually one of the tips.

Depends. In Karate, I'd gladly go up against someone bigger than me, but in Judo it's a different story. We had this one big older guy who learned Judo when he was a boy in Soviet Russia who restarted the same night I joined. Because there weren't too many adults in class I got paired with him a lot and even doing fit ins with him wore me out like crazy. Even when I did them properly my back would hurt after picking him up a few times and I was always afraid he was going to land on me. Granted, I'm just a beginner in Judo-- might be different for a professional-- but I for one am glad I don't have to compete against someone his size in a real match.

Depends. In Karate, I'd gladly go up against someone bigger than me, but in Judo it's a different story. We had this one big older guy who learned Judo when he was a boy in Soviet Russia who restarted the same night I joined. Because there weren't too many adults in class I got paired with him a lot despite the fact he was five inches taller and a good 150 pounds heavier than me and even doing fit ins with him wore me out like crazy. Even when I did them properly my back would hurt after picking him up a few times and I was always afraid he was going to land on me. Granted, I'm just a beginner in Judo-- might be different for a professional-- but I for one am glad I don't have to compete against someone his size in a real match.

Welcome!

Congratulations! That's awesome!!

Wow. Good luck!

Welcome! Looking forward to reading your posts!

I wonder if, as a female, I would be more likely to step in if it were just verbal bullying. I'd be terrified of putting myself into the middle of two unknown males physically going at it, but if he was just verbally putting him down or insulting him, I might be more likely to step in and say something. Or even if it were two females going at it, though that's still messy (what if one had a weapon or we got into legal ramifications or she had friends that were going to come after me). I, too, am interested in hearing our LEOs' points of view.

Welcome and welcome back to Karate! I went back for pretty much the exact same reason a few years ago. There is something enticing about practicing kata. It can almost be like full body meditation. Hope you enjoy your first class tonight!

Congratulations, everyone! Well deserved all around!

Honestly not sure I'd take those guys seriously. Who says "I'm gonna sock you in the face"?

I don't think $150 is overcharging to bring someone in to be on a grading panel. It sounds about right to me, especially if he has big travel expenses to get down there.

Pie and ice cream, on the other hand...

The biggest one I can think of was about a year ago right before I got my brown belt. Before that I was like many kyu ranked students and my whole thought process was about getting to the next belt. I wanted that yellow. I wanted that blue. I wanted that green. I wanted that brown. I think we all recognize that it's not an ideal way of thinking, but it is natural and can even be helpful in the beginning when looking at the entire vastness of the art would just be completely overwhelming. And then one day I was doing a reflection (I kept a written reflection journal for awhile-- maybe it's something I should try again) and out of nowhere it was like I could feel the art just opening up to me and suddenly I could see and feel that vastness. Like I said-- it was right before brown, so at the time I was solely focused on getting that brown-- but in a single instant my focus just completely shifted. In my reflection journal I likened it to climbing a ladder to the top of a mesa (I think I even drew a picture to illustrate it). At first your only focus can be getting to the next rung of the ladder because those rungs are all you can see against the solid rock wall. But at some point you get just high enough that suddenly you can see over the top and are confronted with the vastness of the mesa and all there is to explore up there. Suddenly it's not so much about the narrow path of the ladder as it is about taking time to wander and explore and learn. It may not be as obvious that you're climbing once you reach that point, but you're still sloping upwards. You're just moving along a broader, less well-defined path. My "Ah HA! moment" was hitting that point where the top of the mesa was visible to me. Suddenly I wanted that brown belt not because I wanted another step in the ladder, but because I could see that the ladder was ending. I saw brown belt almost as its own wide little ledge just before the final ledge stepping up to dan studies. I became excited to get off the ladder and spend some quality time just exploring without worrying so much about advancing. And, a year later, I thankfully haven't fallen out of that mindset. I'm still happy to be a brown belt. I'm happy for the nice wide ledge I have to stretch my legs here before having to worry about moving up again and for the width vs. height mindset I'm finding myself developing (aka-- trying to work on developing things all throughout my repertoire as opposed to just looking for the minimum height of knowledge I need to get me to the next level). It's a comfortable place to be. I think in metaphors.

I believe mine was about $60 for a century middleweight uniform. I like it for my purposes. It's held up fine the past few years (besides the stains I put on it wearing in a graveyard on Halloween night...). I don't want nor would I need a very heavy weight gi, but I do need something more than a lightweight. For an adult beginner, around $50-$75 for a decent middleweight gi is probably where you want to be.

I could see bouncing serving the same purpose it does in tennis. In tennis many players bounce to stay light on their feet and be ready to move in any direction quickly. I personally don't like to bounce in either sport, but I can see the benefits.

Ours is interesting. Seisan-- the first Isshinryu kata-- is not really a beginning form. It's actually pretty complex. So my instructor modified a few kata from other systems to Isshinryu (our stances and the vertical punch) as a preparation for the first Isshinryu kata. He also adds unmodified kata from different systems for different reasons throughout the program either to teach different techniques and ways of movement or to just completely throw us off (his official reason for making the new brown belt learn a kung fu form [no-- it's really to get us moving more fluidly and flexibly]). I'll give you the adult version (the belts are different for the kids, but the kata are still learned in the same order). White: Fukyugata Ichi (Shorin Ryu) Kyozai (not sure, actually) Annaku (Shorin Ryu) Yellow: Seisan (Isshinryu) Saifa (Goju Ryu) Seiunchin (Isshinryu) Blue: Naihanchi (Isshinryu) Wansu (Isshinryu) Green: Chinto (Isshinryu) 3rd kyu Brown: Supple Dragon (Pai Lum Kung Fu) Kusanku (Isshinryu) 2nd kyu Brown: Nijushiho (Shotokan) Sunsu (Isshinryu) 1st kyu Brown: Sanchin (Isshinryu) Hidden Stick Form or Horseman's Bo Form (Bando) Past Shodan is really flexible and dependent on the person, but it includes study of the Isshinryu weapons kata as well as more empty hand kata from other systems (since Isshinryu only has the eight listed above). I'm pretty sure we don't have any official requirements for anything past Shodan. Honestly even below that it's extremely flexible what belt everyone learns things at, as long as everything on the list is known for the Shodan test. For example, I just got my 2nd kyu but I learned both the 1st kyu forms as a 3rd kyu in addition to the 3rd kyu forms (still have a lot of work to do on them, of course, but I've got all the movements). So yeah... we're confusing.

1) Figure out your own path-- where you want to go and how you can get there-- and then concentrate on your path without worrying too much about the paths of others. If your path involves multiple arts, don't let anyone tell you you can't. If other people are getting their black belts before you or are in what you think are McDojos, don't let it bother you too much. If you have a family and a full time job and only want to do it for the exercise a few days a week, don't compare yourself to the super karateka who train six days a week. Concentrate on your path and work as hard as you want to accomplish your own personal goals. Be satisfied with yourself and your journey. Everything else is immaterial. 2) A black belt is just a white belt who never quit. Probably the single best martial arts quote I've heard and it motivates me now to just keep on truckin' through the challenging times.